Love?
by fowl68
Summary: We choose to love;we do not choose to cease loving."


Love

_**Love?**_

**Disclaimer: **I'mstill broke and I am still in school. The song at the end is Far Away from Nickelback.

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"_There is a room in the Department of Mysteries that is kept locked at all times. It contains a force that is at once more wonderful and more terrible than death, than human intelligence, than the forces of nature. It is also, perhaps, the most mysterious of the many subjects for study that reside there. It is the power held within that room that you possess in such quantities and which Voldemort has not at all. That power took you to save Sirius tonight. That power also saved you from possession by Voldemort, because he could not bear to reside in a body so full of the force he detests. In the end, it mattered not that you could not close your mind. It was your heart that saved you."-Albus Dumbledore__**(Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)**_

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**Love is looking out for your friends.**

Chouji flinched at the words being hurled at him. They were at it again, always insulting his size and features every time he asked if he could play with them. His hazel eyes were focused on the ground at his feet. Then a new voice was heard, one he could remember hearing it, but he couldn't place a face to it. He looked up and saw a slender boy with dark brown eyes smiling at him, dark hair pulled back into a spiky ponytail.

He told them something; Chouji wasn't even totally sure what he said because he was still in shock that someone would stick up for him. The other kids ran off and the boy turned and started walking lazily, hands stuffed in his pockets. Chouji kept up with him surprisingly easy and thanked him.

Shikamaru turned and smiled again. "No problem."

**Love is a good night kiss.**

Naruto laid out his bedroll near Hinata's. The mission had been hard and they were both glad to be going home. He let himself fall back and relished in the feeling of the rough cloth against his back.

"Are you tired, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked from her bedroll, her lilac eyes watching him.

"Mmhmm," He answered, "The stars are really pretty tonight though. I guess we can be happy for that. We can't see 'em as good in the village."

Hinata had to agree. The stars shone brilliantly, a sharp contrast to the midnight sky. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while until Naruto announced he was going to bed.

Hinata, in a rare burst of courage, crawled over to him and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Good night."

**Love is wondering what he's doing right at this very moment.**

Sakura drew her knees to her chest and rested her knees on them. Her jade eyes were on the waves, but her mind as on a sixteen year old martial artist with dazzling teeth and strong arms.

The very same arms that had just wrapped themselves around her slim waist.

"I thought you were going to take longer."

"You underestimate the power of youth."

**Love is trust.**

"Please?"

"No."

"…Pretty please with strawberry pocky on top?"

Shino regarded Kiba carefully through the dark lenses. They were the very same things that Kiba wanted him to take off so he could see his eyes. He relented and took them off, dutifully keeping them open, although his eyes were unused to sunlight.

Kiba studied them. They were coffee colored with flicks of amber and sea green mixed in. He stated that they were beautiful and thanked him for letting him be the first one outside the Aburame Clan to see them.

**Love is sharing your popcorn.**

He was staring at her again, and Tenten couldn't help but still be slightly unnerved by the pale gaze.

"Is there something you wanted?" She asked him.

"You're eating popcorn." Neji stated.

_Great job, Master of the Obvious._ "Why, is against my destiny?"

He smirked. "It is if you don't share." He held out his hand, palm up.

**Love is committing yourself in writing.**

Kankuro watched his younger brother writing about the day. Today had been a good day, he noted, because he was writing in green. He wrote in dark red if it was a bad day. This puzzled him, because they'd been in meetings nearly all of today, and Gaara hated to be stuck inside, so what had made today so great?

Kankuro asked him out loud and Gaara turned to him and smiled that slight smile that Kankuro was still having some trouble getting used to. He didn't say anything, but handed him the little black book. Kankuro read it and smiled himself at the bottle-green words.

_Temari brought us strawberries._

**Love is not nagging.**

Iruka entered a dark apartment. This was nothing too unusual. While Kakashi liked to wait up for him, sometimes it was too hard and he fell asleep. This wasn't one of those days. Kakashi had recently returned from a B rank, but it had been in Snow Country and he _hated_ the cold.

Iruka flicked on a closet light and entered the living room to set down the ungraded papers. His eyes caught a familiar silver-haired person that was laid out on their couch, his infamous orange book on his bare chest and his forearm on his forehead.

The younger man shook his head and went to get a blanket. Kakashi was going to catch a cold one day sleeping like that. He took the book, folded the page and laid it with the papers and curled up next to his lover and placed the blanket over them both.

_I'll nag him about it tomorrow._

**Love is being tolerant.**

Sasuke was comfortable on the branch overhanging the river, his onyx eyes focused on the book in front of him. A familiar warm body sat next to him and some golden blonde hair entered his peripheral vision with a chin on his right shoulder.

"What'cha reading?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke held it up so he could see.

Naruto began to read aloud, doing various voices. "'Okay guys,' I said softly, 'Can anybody open locks with their minds? Speak up now.' No one could. 'Iggy then.'

Sasuke lightly elbowed him in the ribs to get him to stop. Naruto grinned.

"What's it about? Psychics?"

"No. They're avian experiments and some of them have weird powers." Sasuke told him.

"Ya know, that actually sound kinda interesting." Naruto said, and then began watching the river, which he had always found a little fascinating.

It was a long while later when Sasuke felt Naruto's eyes close and his breathing become calmer and more even with sleep. He was a little heavy against his shoulder, but Sasuke let it slide. It felt a little nice too.

**Love is accepting a person for what he is.**

"You're such a lazy-ass." Temari remarked as she lay beside him.

"You love it." Shikamaru replied without taking his eyes from the skies.

"Damn right I do."

**Love is close dancing.**

Sakura took Kakashi's hands and pulled him to his feet.

"What're you doing?!"

The pinkette smiled. "You gotta learn how to dance for Naruto's wedding, sensei."

Kakashi groaned. He hated dancing almost as much as the cold. _Almost_.

**Love is having a special song.**

Naruto leaned back on his hands as he stared out at the village. He was seated on a grassy hillside as the festival came to a close. Naruto didn't move though. The grass was cool and he was completely at ease. Music floated up and Naruto hummed along.

_This time, this place._

_Misused mistakes._

_Too long, too late_

_Who was I to make you wait?_

"Ironic, ne?" Naruto spoke to the person who had just sat back-to-back with him. The person who hadn't been seen in the village for four years.

"I'm amazed that you know what that means, dobe."

Naruto poked him on the hand. "I'm not such a dobe anymore, teme."

The blonde could feel the smirk as the pale hand entwined with his. "Not to me. You'll always by my dobe."

Naruto smiled and leaned his head back against the soft ebony locks. 


End file.
